Mukwege: End Sexual Violence in Conflict

Today we celebrate the first International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Our thoughts immediately go to all victims, all the women and men, girls and boys, sometimes even babies, who have been abused, tortured, and subjected to rape as a strategy of war. Rape that becomes a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population on national, political, ethnic or racial grounds is a Crime Against Humanity. Rape is a cost efficient, cruel, inhumane and degrading war strategy deployed in too many modern conflicts.

Rape as a weapon of war should not be confused with rape, or non-consensual sex. It is first and foremost a strategy of humiliation, power, and subjection - usually committed in public, and targeting civilians. It also covers sexual slavery and forced sterilization. Systemic, orchestrated rapes are often a weapon that forces people from their homes, destroys family life, and the social fabric of entire communities. It aims to destroy the source of life and so, it concerns us all. Rape in conflict leaves evidence behind, including children born of rape, and the lingering horror when rape and gender-based violence metastasize and spread through traumatized communities and societies, their values lost, often for generations.

The first time I testified before the United Nations Security Council on the rapes committed in the Eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a diplomat from one of the permanent members was reluctant to even discuss this issue at the United Nations Security Council.

Since then, progress has been made. There is growing awareness at the global level and a multitude of resolutions have been adopted by the Security Council in the wake of resolution 1325. After a too long silence and a culture of denial, the question has now attracted attention and more and more survivors are aware of their right to justice and their right to access health care safely.

The adoption of this international day sends a strong message: the international community has opened their eyes and calls on each of us, men and women, to take action against this heinous crime. Each of us can make a difference. We can contribute to changes in attitudes to end the crime of rape, which is often presented as the oldest in the history of humanity, but which remains unpunished far too often.

We must redouble our efforts though, to raise awareness among opinion and policy makers. Together we must seek an end to impunity, and pursue justice for the victims of Rape in Conflict subjected to these crimes that shock the conscience of our collective humanity.

The law represents the most effective tool for preventing sex crimes, at home or abroad. The landmark Akayesu case set a legal precedent and created a framework for the law, for policy makers, survivors, and their communities. In recent months, we have been encouraged by the conviction of military officials in Guatemala for acts committed against Mayan women in the early 1980s. The conviction and condemnation of the former President of Chad, Hissène Habré, in Senegal was a welcome victory for both victims and civil society associations, as well as for truth – and history. International criminal justice should focus on those who orchestrate and oversee these crimes, and on the individual perpetrators. Despite the modest progress made, I remain dismayed by the upsurge of sexual violence during conflict, leaving the overwhelming majority of victims continue to suffer in silence, without benefiting from services which are so much needed to restore their dignity.

It is time to act, to turn words into actions, and to establish a strategy. Concrete actions with real political will further the commitments made at the London Summit, and aid us in seeing an end to sexual violence in times of conflict. It takes a clear and unequivocal commitment by each one of us, in partnership with the international community. We must establish a red line against the use of rape as a weapon of war. We must create a lasting legacy of peace and democracy not one of impunity and indifference.